-:[PS2 Version Review]:- Raiden III is the long awaited sequel to the early 90's shoot 'em-ups Raiden and Raiden II. Once again you control Raiden, no, not Raiden the cyborg, we're talking about the legendary and iconic "Fighting Thunder ME-02" ship, fighting the alien invaders. There are in total 7 levels, the first three set on Earth and the last three in space. Story: Very little information is given regarding the story line, other than the "Earth has been overrun by aliens", yeah, the focus of this game is entirely on gameplay Gameplay: Although few changes have been made from the formula of the previous Raiden games, there are some really cool additions like the different missiles In addition to the main weapon, secondary weapon and bomb powerups, there are miscellaneous pickup items. Also, a small fairy appears after shooting certain things: Seasoned Raiden veterans will recognize it instantly. The whole game can be completed in around 30-60 min but this is an arcade game, it's point isn't just to see the ending credits, the entire purpose of the game is to increase your high score and to get better at it, until you reach that sweet, desired, one credit game run. Graphics: Nothing too overly fancy or special but the graphics are very well done in this game because despite all of the explosions and action you never, EVER die unfairly because you were distracted or didn't see a projectile, graphics are crisp, clean and smooth, nothing ever takes you away from the shooting action Sound: SWEET JESUS the Soundtrack of this game is EXCELLENT! the soundtrack, composed by G. Sato, Y. Sakamoto and Y. Takemitsu truly shines in this game, this is a real throwback to the original Raiden games and this release on GOG is worth buying for the soundtrack alone! Overall: Pure arcade shooting action, this is an arcade shoot-em-up through and through, it knows what it is and it's good at what it does. 5/5 Stars, recommended to the fans of the genre and newcomers as well!